How to save food

Dawn Gibson
Monday, July 14, 2014

OF the numerous problems which come with increasing population numbers, one of the most important and probably most obvious ones is feeding these populations.

The pressures which population increases will have on the planet's ability to provide food will be immense, and while there are many ways to tackle this problem, a number of experts cite the full and proper use of food as one of the main ones.

This means that using leftovers is paramount — and not just a few people — if everyone used leftover to make other meals, it would put less pressure on food producers to create so much in smaller timeframes.

In fact, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) UN, about one third of global food production is lost or wasted annually.

Food enthusiast and Mai Kana television host Dominic Sansom yesterday said a lot of Fiji's locally-grown foods made some of the tastiest dishes.

"Angry red lentil roti soup is a variation on a simple, spicy Mexican soup made with leftover tortilla which is similar to roti.

"In a pot, fry onion, carrot, garlic and chilli in oil until they start to brown. Add red lentils and fry for a minute or two. Mash and strain tomatoes, add the strained juice to the pot with the water. Cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes. Rip the roti into bite size pieces and place in bowls for serving and pour soup over them."

He also said dhal miti was another way to make use of leftovers: "You'll need four cups of leftover dhal soup and a cup of ready-made miti. Heat dhal in a pot and when it comes to the boil, remove from the heat and stir in the miti. Serve it on its own or with steamed rice."

Or if you're after something less soup-like, using leftover fish to make fish pies is a great alternative.